Legacy, Not a Legend
by Ash Gray Kitsune
Summary: The Hero, the man who saves the world when darkness takes it over again and again, always has a story left untold...Link-centric, fluff/angst, character change.


**Legacy, Not a Legend**

The waters were still around the small jetty, and the young father held his boy, blue eyes blinking back tears. Gone was the rage, the disdain for the village elders, the fear that they would take his son by force...all that was left was sorrow. Link of Ordon, now Kokiri forest, once a hero of the Kingdom of Hyrule, had woken up one morning to a tiny basket, holding a tiny baby, on the ground before his small house in Kakariko , only a small note with the boy's name and that he was Link's. And he looked it too; blond hair, shaggy and pale with youth, so likely to darken when he grew up, and a pair of huge blue eyes, capable of melting even the hardest of hearts. Darunia's son, Link, last he'd visited, had commented on such, the great Goron's stern countenance softening as his own child played with his blood-brother's.

"It never should have come to this..." Came the soft voice, and Link smiled faintly as Navi floated close, the fairy's bell-like tone ragged from crying. He offered her the shoulder that his child wasn't sleeping on, and she took it, leaning close against his neck. "Link...we can run away, you know."

"There's nowhere to go, Navi. The Queen's pronouncement is final; we have to wait for the boat." He closed his eyes to the tempation, knowing that he had friends enough...Zelda could not hunt in all the lands, not if she wished to remain Queen and in power. His former ally...his friend. Now, a bitter enemy, for when she had ascended the throne, she had inherited the Triforce of Power...and grown hungry, needing more and more to feed her ambitions. If he went to the Gerudo, it would seal his fate...but the boy would be safe. Nabooru had promised him safety; he had only to show the Mirror Shield, still belted to his back, and he would become part of the traveling bands. Or the Kokiri...No, he would not bring war upon those so kind and loving. Nor would he trouble the Goron race, nor the Zora. They had far too many treaties, and Ruto would not thank him, nor Darunia, for involving their peoples in bloodshed. "No...we are alone, my friend..." She, who knew his thoughts best, sighed, and reached up to brush a strand of hair out of his face.

"Link...will you really give him up?"

"With no one here to stay Zelda's hand...I won't see my son harmed. She has promised much in return for the village..." The fairy sniffed angrily.

"Oh yes, food and supplies and all the other things we've needed...a babe is worth so little."

"Navi..."

"...I am sorry, Link."

"It's alright..." A horn sounded in the distance, coming with the growing dawn, and Link felt his heart sink. The boat was drawing near; he'd taken his son to one last outing at Lake Hylia before camping out for the night on the island the covered the Water Temple. But...no...he couldn't... "Navi..." He clutched the boy tighter, fear making his breath come short. "...I don't know if I can do this..." The fairy surveyed the small, slim schooner, then turned to him, twinkling brightly.

"Then don't." With a trill, she called Epona, and as the mare galloped up, a surprised Link swung himself into the saddle, and made haste for the gates. The _one_ good thing about Zelda's power-mongering was that she refused to allow anything closed up; her troops had to get through, after all. And it was with that in mind that man and horse tore out of the valley, pounding down to the great ravine that led to the Gerudo. The bridge had never been fixed; their testament to Zelda's newfound powers, since she had tried to rein in the bands of warriors and meld them into the Hylian culture. He felt Epona's muscles tense, then she jumped, and for a moment, one blessed moment, he felt free...before she landed roughly, jarring both of her riders badly before she recovered. She ran on, flanks heaving, foaming a little, and Link dismounted easily enough, already shushing his now wide-awake...and crying son.

"Shhh, shhhhh...It's alright, Epona just had to jump something..." The boy bawled a little more before snuffling back into Link's shoulder, and as he hiccupped, his father slipped up to the mare and took her reins, then made his way up to the cliff-dwellings. His heart was thudding in his chest; he was terrified of what he'd just done, no matter that he'd done so much more in the past...but the fear wasn't for himself. He planted a kiss against a small green cap, the mirror to his own, and a tear fell from his face, dampening the cloth. "Shh, shhh...It's okay, Link. It's okay..."

**Blame tumblr, and a beautiful portrait I found. I had to write it.**


End file.
